A BIRD IN THE HEAD

Average Rating:

[6.62/10] 29 votes

Moe, Larry and Curly are three paperhangers who are out of a job after they wreck Mr. Beedle's apartment, but Prof. Panzer offers to take care of them for the rest of their lives. He wants to transplant Curly's brain into Igor, his gorilla!

Production of A BIRD IN THE HEAD was postponed for a day when Columbia studios closed down when President Franklin Roosevelt died.

Moe refers to Igor the Gorilla as Ingagy. INGAGY was the title of a low budget horror film about a monster gorilla.

Fake HitYou can see Moe move his foot away when Curly is supposed to drop the wallpapers on his foot.

Out-Of-Place TeethDuring the chase around the lab, Curly tosses a large bottle onto the floor so Vernon Dent will trip on it. When Dent falls, he falls onto an open set of teeth that snap shut on his rear end. From where did the perfectly-placed teeth come?

Runaway Machine Gun?Near the end of the short, as the Stooges are running out of the lab, the gorilla is still firing the machine gun. However, the gorilla is holding the weapon is upside down, with the drum magazine, hand grip & trigger assembly facing up, & the gorilla's finger doesn't appear to be near the trigger. The muzzle is below the bottom of the camera, so nothing is seen to indicate the weapon is firing, yet the weapon is still heard to be firing, & the gorilla is still making the physical movements one might expect to see with a weapon being fired.

Strange DoorWhile running away from the gorilla, Larry pulls on the door knob but nothing happens. Moe pulls the door knob, & it comes off in his hand. But the door still doesn't open until Vernon Dent pushes it from the other side, revealing there's no door knob on the other side either, nor does there appear to be any lock hardware in the edge of the door to explain why it was so hard to open.

The Falling PlankWhen Larry first props the plank up against the wall, you can see what appears to be hinges or other devices at the bottom of the plank, actually lifting it off the floor, apparently so it'll fall, & do so exactly where it should. When Larry doesn't keep the plank up against the wall, & Moe comes over to do it, the hinges/other devices are gone.

Breaking lever or doorknobWhen trying to turn something off or open a door, somebody pulls the lever or doorknob of it so hard that it accidentally breaks off.Also used in: DISORDER IN THE COURT·SPACE SHIP SAPPY

Looks like MoeAfter Larry and the third Stooge mistake Moe for something else, they look at his face and one of them says "This ____ looks like Moe!" Then the other Stooge exclaims "It is Moe!"Also used in: ROCKIN' THRU THE ROCKIES·LISTEN, JUDGE

This Paste is Lumpy!Involves the Stooges as paperhangers, or in the act of hanging wallpaper or a billboard, and a pair of stooges plaster an unsuspecting victim between the paper and the wall and begin to happily smooth it out. When they reach the person trapped under the paper, one of them quips, "Hey, this paste is lumpy!"Also used in: NEW 3 STOOGES, THE·JERKS OF ALL TRADES

[Behind the professor is a gorilla in a cage. The cage is covered up so Mr. Beedle won't see it. The gorilla sticks his hand from under the cover and tries to grab Mr. Beedle, but he doesn't see it. The professor sees the hand and quickly tries to get Mr. Beddle out of the lab]

PROFESSOR: Sorry you're leaving Mr. Beedle. I will expect you back. [pushes Mr. Beedle out of the room]

MR. BEEDLE: Yes yeah. I'll come back soon. I gotta come back-- [The professor closes the door and Mr. Beedle is now out of the room]

[Nikko and the professor are the only ones left in the lab. They approach the cage and the professor removes the curtains revealing the gorilla]

PROFESSOR: It isn't safe to have Igor in here. Now go take him to his room.

NIKKO: Yes master. May I ask why you had him brought here?

PROFESSOR: Because through Igor, I'm going to become famous. Igor, the beast of the jungle, is going to have a human brain. Ah--- He would have one tomorrow…if I could find one small enough.

PROFESSOR: [looks at Nikko's head] What size hat do you wear, Nikko?

NIKKO: [Starts shaking] Six and three quarters.

PROFESSOR: Oh! Not quite small enough, Nikko. Ah! Too bad.

NIKKO: [With relief] Yes master! Too bad!!

[The scene ends and a new scene begins where we see the stooges getting ready to do their paperhanging]

[Larry is holding a ladder but is having trouble as he finds it too heavy. He hits Moe in the head with ladder by accident]

MOE: Oh!

[While struggling to carry the ladder, Larry accidentally places the ladder in Moe's head. Moe's head is now stuck in between the two steps of the ladder. Larry moves backwards and one step of the ladder breaks on Moe's neck]

MOE: Oh. Why you.

[Larry now moves forward and another step of the ladder breaks on Moe's neck]

MOE: Ohh!

[Larry puts the ladder on the ground. Moe walks up to him in anger.]

MOE: Oh I didn't mean to talk rough to ya. Hahaha

[Moe pinches Larry's cheek pretending to be nice, but then slaps him in the face]

MOE: Go on. Get the ladder away!

[The camera cuts to Curly who is trying to spread out the wallpaper while he sings, but he can't because the wallpaper keeps on rolling back]

CURLY: Nah. Hmm. [sees the wallpaper behind him roll back, so he tries to spread it out again while singing]

[When Curly finishes spreading out the wallpaper again, he turns around to see that it rolled back again]

CURLY: Ahhh. Arf! Errrr.

[The camera cuts to Moe who trips over a plank]

MOE: [yells at Larry] Ya bubble brain. Stand that plank up out of the way.

[Larry stands the plank up on the wall. He turns around, takes a few steps and the plank behind him falls on the ground. He hears it fall, but he has no idea what it is, so he ignores it]

[Moe see the plank back on the floor]

MOE: [yells at Larry] Hey! I thought I told you to get that plank up there.

[Larry turns around, sees the plank and stands it back on the wall. He turns around, takes a few steps and the plank behind him falls on the ground again. He hears it fall and he still doesn't know what the sound is. So, he ignores it once again]

MOE: I see, if I want anything done around here, I gotta do it myself. Oh Larry! Come here I got something special for you.

LARRY: Yeah, what is it?

MOE: This! [slaps Larry] Why?

[The plank falls on Larry's head]

MOE: Oh!

LARRY: [runs to Curly] Hey we better get busy! He's plenty sore.

MOE: A blockbuster. [leaning against the wall as he recovers from being hit with the plank]

LARRY: Ok, let's go.

[Larry and Curly start to wallpaper over Moe not realizing he's against the wall]

CURLY: Hmmm! Hey, that piece is lumpy.

LARRY: [rips open the wallpaper a little bit] Say! This wallpaper's got eyes.

[Larry and Curly tear the wallpaper off]

CURLY: Face looks like Moe.

LARRY: It is Moe.

MOE: Yes it is me!

[Grabs the brush used to paste the wallpaper and he brushes Larry and Curly's face twice]

MOE: Get busy you jug heads. We got a lot of work to do.

LARRY AND CURLY: Ehhh!! [stick their tongues out at Moe]

[Moe brushes their tongues]

MOE: Now go on. Go on! [hits Larry with the brush]

[The scene ends and a new scene begins where we see Mr. Beedle walking in the hallway. He tries to enter the room where the stooges are working at but he can't open the door. He pushes hard and finally gets the door open. The camera cuts to inside the room where we see the horrible work the stooges did with the paperhanging]

MR. BEEDLE: Oh no! No!

MOE: Hi ya, Mr. Beedle. I told ya we'd do a good job.

MR. BEEDLE: No. No. No. No. [rips some wallpaper off the wall] Oh, this is silly. This is silly. It can't be. It can't be.

MOE: Oh, yes it is. I said you wouldn't know the joint.

MR. BEEDLE: You!! [takes off his hat and throws it on the floor] I thought you said you were experienced paperhangers. Well, you're fired. You're not only fired, I'm gonna tear you limb from limb.

[Mr. Beedle tries to run after the stooges, but he knocks over a bucket of paste, causing him to slip. The stooges open the door at the other end of the room and Mr. Beedle slips out the door. The stooges close the door]

MOE: Hey quick!

[The stooges exit the room through the other door, they run through the hallway and enter the professor's lab. Once they enter, the lab is empty]

[The professor is running after Moe, but Moe moves to side and the professor bumps into the wall. A bottle falls on the professor's head and he gets knocked unconscious]

[The stooges run out of the lab, then through the hallway and they hide in another room. As they run into the other room, Moe and Larry stay right beside the door while Curly runs all the way to the other end of the room. Behind Moe and Larry is the gorilla, but they don't see it.]

CURLY: [Turns around and sees the gorilla] Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeh!

MOE: Shut up! This is no time to be singing.

CURLY: But Moe! Moe!

[The gorilla puts its hand on Moe's shoulder]

MOE: Shut up, I said!

CURLY: Hmmmmm! But Moe!

[Moe aggressively pushes the gorilla's hand away.]

MOE: Shut up!

[The gorilla growls. Moe and Larry hear it and they turn around]

MOE: Nyaaahhh!

[Moe and Larry quickly open the door and run out. Curly, who is at the other end, tries to catch up to them, but can't because the gorilla is in front of him]

CURLY: Nyah ahhh!

[The gorilla approaches Curly and starts petting him and being friendly.]

CURLY: I bet you do that to all the boys, especially if you're gonna get their brain. Nyaah ah ah!

[The camera cuts to the hallway where we see Moe and Larry running. The professor comes out, Moe and Larry sees him, and they quickly run into the side of the hallway where they can't be seen. Moe and Larry are now squished together hiding there. The professor runs down the hallway]

MOE: Hey! He's gonna grab Curly!

LARRY: Yeah! We better do something.

MOE: He'll take him to the lab, won't he!

LARRY: Yes.

MOE: Well we'll ambush him! [Twists both of Larry's ears']

LARRY: Oh!

MOE: Then will infiltrate! [Hits Larry's face] Then will give him the old Pincers Movement! [Slaps Larry's face with both hands twice]

LARRY: Oh! Wait a minute! Save that for him.

MOE: Ok ok!

[Moe and Larry both try to get out of their squishy hiding spot, but they can't. Since it's very squishy, they can't move out at the same time. Moe and Larry try getting out together a second time, but they still can't]

[As Curly and the gorilla leave, the professor walks into that room they just left. Curly and the gorilla are now at the hallway. Curly approaches the door of the professor's lab, where Moe and Larry are at. He knocks on it]

LARRY: Who is it?

CURLY: It's me! Curly! Open up! [pushes his way in]

[Moe opens the door as Curly pushes in. Curly and the gorilla walk in, but Moe doesn't see the gorilla yet. Moe and Larry lock the door, turn around and see the gorilla]

MOE: Nyaaaahhh! Ya monkey. Why did you bring that ay…ape in here for? Get him out of here.

CURLY: No, he's my pal.

[The gorilla hugs Curly]

CURLY: Five o'clock shadow! Remind me, you got to shave in the morning!

[The camera cuts to the hallway where the professor and Nikko are trying to open the door of the lab, but it's locked]

PROFESSOR: They're locked in the laboratory, the fools! I'll use the secret entrance! Get the gun!

NIKKO: Yes, master!

[The scene cuts to Curly and the gorilla in the lab. They both are looking at the professor's table. Curly picks up an object, sniffs it, and throws it. We hear that object break. The gorilla does the same thing Curly does]

CURLY: Hey you're smart!

[Curly and the gorilla start throwing other objects and we hear more breaking sounds]

[Moe and Larry are at the door trying to listen to see if the professor is outside]

[Curly slaps Moe's face, then slaps his forehead, and flings his face once again. The gorilla jumps up and down for joy.]

[The camera cuts to the hallway again where we see Nikko hand the professor a machine gun]

PROFESSOR: Now I'll fix 'em. [grabs the gun]

[The scene ends and a new scene begins where we see the gorilla walking over to the table in the lab. It sniffs a bottle of Pure Grain Alcohol on the table. It drinks it and reacts a little to it. Curly runs up to the gorilla and grabs the bottle from it]

CURLY: No you don't! This stuff is bad for ya! It'll make you a monkey out of you every time.

[The gorilla still continues to shoot all over the place. As the professor tries to exit through the secret entrance, the gorilla shoots him in the rear and he hits his head and becomes unconscious. The stooges are hiding under the table. Since the gorilla is shooting the gun like crazy, it ends up shooting the stooges in the rear as they hide under the table and they each hit their heads. The stooges quickly get up and exit the lab]

[The camera cuts to hallway where the stooges are running. As the stooges run through the hall, the gorilla enters. Curly turns back and he runs up to the gorilla. He takes the gorilla by the hand and they run down the hallway together.]

Re: A BIRD IN THE HEADPosted 2000-09-09 17:16:00 by StoogeEdited 2008-06-14 22:20:09 by Stooge

This is the first actual short directed by Edward Bernds (even though MICRO-PHONIES was released before this), and unfortunately, it's not that good. The set-up and storyline itself wasn't bad, but what's weak about this is the execution. Curly, in particular, has a weak performance due to his bad health and isn't able to carry most of the material he had, plus he really ruined the last line he said in the short ("Have you got a permit from the OPA?"). Moe and Larry do a better job of carrying most of the material here. Vernon Dent was great as always as Professor Panzer, and Frank Lackteen can gets laughs just from his creepy-looking face alone. I didn't find the gunshots at the end too disturbing like most people do, but I didn't like the abrupt ending with the Stooges just running out of the lab with the ape following them.

Reviewer's Rating: (6)

Re: A BIRD IN THE HEADPosted 2002-03-29 15:29:00 by BJREdited 2006-03-25 09:47:03 by shemps#1

This one's a bad Curly short in which Curly is in poor health and the short itself doesn't feature many funny gags or lines. Something to consider is that the remake (featuring Shemp), Dopey Dicks (1949), was much, much better than this. 1-1/2 pokes

Re: A BIRD IN THE HEADPosted 2001-08-24 03:53:00 by [Deleted Member]Edited 2006-03-25 09:46:41 by shemps#1

I like this short. I based a drama class performance in high school half on the mad scientist in this short and half on the doctor in that newer Bugs Bunny cartoon that wanted to switch Bugs's mind for a chicken's in front of an audience of doctors. (I LOVE that cartoon! If only I could remember the title.) My performance didnt get one laugh but at least I tried. (I think they were just a tough audience.) Anyway, good short. Dent as the mad scientist was almost as good as Phil VanZandt's mad scientist in "Dopey Dicks" and "Spooks".

Re: A BIRD IN THE HEADPosted 2001-04-08 00:21:00 by [Deleted Member]Edited 2006-03-25 09:45:48 by shemps#1

What we saw in films like these was a less active Curly due to illness, but still, in my opinion, a very funny Curly all the same. His health problems just forced him to tone down his comedy a bit, but he was still very much in character. One line I like in here is where Moe makes a rare verbal joke saying, "A bird in the head is worth two in the bush." Whenever Curly or Larry made a bad pun like that, Moe would give them a good smack, but since Moe says it himself, he just smiles. Heck, I really like this one.

Re: A BIRD IN THE HEADPosted 2003-07-28 13:25:00 by tburnell

Definetly not one of my favorites, but I watch it! Liked the wallpapering scene. Curly's line about the lumps in the paper and it looking like Moe are great, and Larry's about the wallpaper having eyes. Would like to have seen more of their renovating routines than the other stuff. I did like the part too when they run in the room to hide and the gorilla is behind Moe and Curly does the "Eeeeeeeeeeh!" Moe is funny saying, "Shad-app!"

Reviewer's Rating: (8)

Re: A BIRD IN THE HEADPosted 2002-04-01 23:11:00 by Shemp_Diesel

A clunker, but the paperhanging scenes are quite funny. It's better than "Mutts To You" anyhow.2 pokes

Reviewer's Rating: (3)

Re: A BIRD IN THE HEADPosted 2001-08-24 10:55:00 by Genius In the Lamp

Not great, but not a total loss. Curly is understandably a bit off in this one, but Curly at even half his powers beats most comedians at full strength. The boys probably look a bit too sympathetic in their roles. As always Vernon Dent shows his great talent as the mad doctor, as does Frank Lackteen as the creepy assistant.

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